Dear JCOGS family,
Last night, I had the great pleasure of performing some music at my rabbinical school Hebrew College’s centennial celebration. 100 years of institutional life and impact on the Jewish community. One of the night’s honourees was our own JCOGS member Deborah Feinstein. As a Hebrew College board member, she was honoured for her tremendous efforts in bringing the college’s art to life through exquisite gallery curation, as well as her commitment to their new campus and the uplifting of legacy giving. But most of all, she was honoured because she is a true model for life-long Jewish learning, making the Torah a living, breathing practice through her continuous commitment to study. Mazel tov Deborah!
This seminal event in my alma mater's history got me thinking about JCOGS’s long-term legacy.
What does our future hold? What course are we charting?As we come out of the more acute parts of the pandemic, I believe we are beginning to see in some meaningful ways how we are already living the future we want right now, and three upcoming events are a testament to these communal hopes and dreams:
Our future looks like a community deeply engaged in Jewish learning and prayer life. This Saturday evening at the beginning of the holiday of Shavuot, we celebrate the adoption of our new prayer book, Siddur Lev Shalem. A few of the members from the first Foundations for a Thoughtful Judaism class will be offering their insights on prayers within the new siddur. Susan Bauchner, Hillel Becker, Howard Brown, and Barbara Segal will each offer something unique to this evening of learning and prayer, to go along with the exquisitely delicious cheesy delights at The Nosh. I hope you will join us in person starting at 6:45pm for schmoozing and food (with an online option at 7:30pm).
Our future looks like strong interfaith relationships, as well as meaningful connections to Israel. After the Shavuot holiday, we set sail to Israel with our Christian Stowe neighbours. On
Thursday evening, we gather at St. John’s in the Mountains for Israeli food and an info session about the upcoming April 2023 interfaith trip with the phenomenal tour guide Danny Ehrlich of Keshet Educational Tours. If you are even a touch interested in what this once in a lifetime trip could mean for you, join us.
Our future looks like engaged membership. On
Sunday, June 12, we gather for our annual meeting with bagels at 9:30am, and the meeting in person and online at 10am (RSVP requested, as we make sure to have a quorum). Find out what your board is up to. Find out what they care about. Let them know what you care about for JCOGS’s present and future.
Come be a part of JCOGS’s future now so that we might one day look back and celebrate our own centennial.
Tihiyu bri’im, be well. Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi David
